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Copy Files with a Progress Bar using rsync

Watch a live transfer percentage when copying large files — cp stays silent.

macOSFilesLow risk
Run rsync -ah --progress source destination to copy with a live percentage readout.

01Command

Command
$ rsync -ah --progress ~/Documents/Project/ /Volumes/Backup/Project/

02What it does

-a preserves timestamps and permissions like cp -a, and --progress shows each file's percentage and transfer speed. If the copy is interrupted, rerun the exact same command — rsync resumes where it stopped instead of starting over, which is why it beats cp for multi-gigabyte transfers to external drives. Add --remove-source-files to make it a move.

03Risk

RiskLow risk
!Warning: rsync does not copy macOS resource forks unless you add the @ (extended attribute) flags — for plain media and documents it is fine.

04Undo

✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.

05Sources

  • rsync – Fast, versatile file copying
    ss64.com · technical · 2026-09-17
    Evidence: rsync --progress prints per-file percentage and speed; -a preserves metadata, -h uses human-readable numbers.

Last verified: 2026-09-18 · Category: Files & Folders

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